Spring is here and we have another wonderful lineup of events to invite you to!

Open Clay Table -  It's a great way to spend a Sunday with friends or meet some new ones. Enjoy a handcrafted coffee while you slow down and make something with clay!. 

Next TBD Coffee Class will be all about Espresso & Milk!

The May Reiki Sound Bath with Shanese will be the last one for the season, so don't miss out on this opportunity to treat yourself! 

Coffee & Collage - follow the link to sign up for this sweet monthly event at Autonomous Gallery.

NEW: We are opening up on FRIDAYS! 

As our sweet community continues to grow, we are trying to open up more. So starting in May, we will be open every FRIDAY from 10AM - 3PM, as well as our typical SATURDAYS during the Vallejo Farmers' Market from 9AM - 3PMish. Join us for a coffee or just catch up with the community--it's a great way to start every weekend.

TBD Showroom

409 Virginia Street

Vallejo, CA 94590

We hope to see you this month!

Spring is in full swing and we have lots going on around TreeBed Design! Check out the calendar links to join us, and be on the look out for even more happening soon!

Open Clay Table is coming up quick, so sign up soon! It's a great way to spend a Sunday with friends or meet some new ones. Enjoy a hand crafted coffee while you slow down and make something with clay!. 

The Reiki Sound Bath with Shanese is almost full for April, but there are a few spots left, and we'd love for you to join us! Don't forget about Coffee & Collage, last month we had a full house... so sign up soon to get your spot at Autonomous Gallery.

As always, you can find us every Saturday during the Vallejo Farmers' Market from 9AM-3PMish. Come join the us for a coffee or just catch up with the community. It's a great way to start every weekend.

TBD Showroom

409 Virginia Street

Vallejo, CA 94590

We hope to see you this month!

Winter Recap and Spring Preview

This newsletter will take a look back at some winter highlights... like Ritual Mugs, Mahjong Night, new writing projects, and look around the corner at what is shaping up for Spring (There is lots)!

Lots of fun stuff to look forward to in February!

We have some of our favorite offerings, like Open Clay Table and our monthly Reiki Sound Bath with Shanese, and some new events to check out!

Join us for a game of mahjong and more at the showroom for a Chinese New Year celebration. 

We are also taking coffee and ceramics on the road to do a pop-up in Napa with our friends at Juniper Station as part of their Sunday Series.

As always, you can find us every Saturday during the Vallejo Farmers' Market from 9AM-3PMish. Come join the regulars for some coffee or just catch up with the community. It's a great way to start every weekend.

TBD Showroom

409 Virginia Street

Vallejo, CA 94590

We hope to see you this month!

Welcome Back

Whoa… it has been awhile since I have sent one of these! The Fall/Winter was pretty crazy for me, and no matter how much I thought about writing a newsletter… it just never happened. I am happy to be sharing a bit of that story, and what is new with TreeBed Design!

NEW STUDIO!
I’ll get right to the big news, and the main reason that no newsletter showed up during the Fall/Winter… I finally have a new studio in Vallejo! There was a year or more of back and forth about whether my space in Napa (where my kilns were) was going to continue, and in early fall it looked like I could stay. However, the landlord changed their mind, and suddenly (right before the holiday push) we had to be out of the warehouse by the end of the year!

This was obviously jarring, and the scramble to find a new space kicked into high gear. My spot in Napa had come about after loosing everything (except some ceramic equipment) in the 2017 fires… a coffee customer of mine graciously offered me a storage spot for my kiln, and then hooked it up so I could fire… and then carved out space for me to work! It was so helpful, and I will always be grateful for that foothold to get ceramics moving forward while I recovered after the fire (which all took way longer than I ever expected).

The whole past year had been filled with little events that seemed to be wrapping up loose ends from my 5 year journey dealing with the fire. In that context, moving the studio into my own space felt like another step in that process. This did not make it any less disruptive though, and it was very difficult to find a new spot… which resulted in all my equipment living in storage for two months (and VERY little work being done).

Then… after looking at lots of spaces that I could maybe “make” work… I got the chance to land in a space that I actually WANTED to make work! So now I'm settling into a space filled with light and possibilities! I am making the focus of this year, a deep dive into how I want to move through the world now that I am no longer in recovery (survival) mode. What is the work I want to make, the space I want to hold, the service I want to be in? I hope to share more about the answers to these questions as I work through them this year.

I am hoping to polish the new studio space off enough to have an open studio soon, and invite YOU to come see the space! Keep an eye out for that…

THIS WEEK! Spring is here, and we FINALLY have the weather to prove it… just in time for the April Vallejo Art Walk (https://vallejoartwalk.org) . Join me in our historic downtown Vallejo for art, music, makers, food and community 5-9pm! My neighbor The Joint is opening back up after their own experience of fire, and it is going to be better than ever! On Saturday I will be at the artist’s reception for the CLAY invitational out at Mare Island Art Studios. I’m honored to be showing some work along a bunch of talented ceramic artists. The intention of the show was to bring together ceramic artists from the area, and allow both artist interaction… as well as a chance to show off the diversity of clay work! The show is open every Sunday this month from 12-4pm, and this Saturday April 15th for the reception (small bites and wine/beer) from 12-5pm. CLASSES & COLLABORATION With the new studio, comes the new possibility of finally folding in some classes and new offerings! I’m still in the process of designing these ideas, and refining it down to something that feels sustainable. I also want it to be something that fits the needs of this community. So if you would be willing to fill out the survey below (link)… that would be SO helpful! There is also space to write in anything you’d like to see from TBD, or ways you might want to collaborate.

TBD CLAY CLASSES QUESTIONNAIRE

The first Vallejo Art Walk of 2022 is happening Feb 11th (tonight)! 5pm-9pm

I am excited to open the door again and feel the creative energy bubble up in historic downtown Vallejo. I have lots of vases on hand to give flowers to someone special (including yourself), and a bunch of new magnets! There is even a LOVE BUG magnet! (coming to the website soon)

I had a crazy past few weeks, and feel a little behind on coming up with a community collaboration for tonight... but we'll see what happens. 

Hope to see you out tonight, or any of the 2nd Fridays the rest of the year! 

Winter Solstice... Slow Down/Reflection... Returning 

We have come through the Winter Solstice, and have made the very first steps towards the returning light. This particular solstice feels potent for me. As the dust settles from my holiday push... I am sinking into what feels like a more natural rhythm for this time of year: slow, dark, pulling in the warmth I can find, and looking back at the past year. How did this (ever faster) unfolding year fit into the larger arc of my life, and the growth of TreeBed Design? It was a big year for TBD, and there is much to celebrate in recounting what has been accomplished! 

2021 began with Covid surging (again), and this felt especially hard after getting a taste of things starting to re-open up in the fall of 2020. My body processed this return to isolation with a great deal of heaviness and anxiety. I realized I would need to make some changes in order to dig out of the darkness I was slipping into. So I asked for help. This was the first big move of 2021 (not something I am always very good at). I checked in with my doctor (I thought my heart was failing, before I realized anxiety was getting the best of me), who pointed me towards different support options for my health. I share this mostly to normalize asking for help (the more I remind myself the better), and to maybe encourage anyone reading this who is struggling to reach out as well. Soon after taking this step I had the thought, "what if I had help with TBD... what could I accomplish?" That very day I saw an Instagram post by Camila (someone I started following by way of coffee connections) talking about the virtual assistance work she does... so I reached out! Camila was sharing on IG in a way that resonated with me, and I instantly felt supported in moving TBD forward. Check out her website, art, and the Pause Project (so awesome)! 

With Camila's support, I began creating many new aspects of tending an ecology for TreeBed Design to grow from. There was a consistent social media strategy... sharing my story, process, and products. The first TBD newsletter went out in the Summer. I opened my doors for the return of the Vallejo Art Walk (as well began volunteering to run their IG account), and I did my first intentional holiday release! 

The first full year of returning to self employment was no easy road, but 2021 was the most productive TBD year yet! I made more pieces this year than ever before, and all of that in spite of supply chain problems that created major headaches to production. Along with hundreds of plates, bowls, growlers, mugs, tumblers etc... I tackled a new skill: mural making! In August I got to translate the 90 year old blue prints of a boat built on Mare Island into a giant wall mural for the new Mare Island Brewing Co. Whaleboat Room (click for a video of the making). 

So on this winter solstice... I slow down, and go inward to reflect on how the journey of the past year has fit into my longer story. I can see reminders that my asking for help... is helpful. I can feel the support of that help, and celebrate new structures in place to make moving forward easier. I can honor the struggle and resistance that I had to move through in order to make those things happen. A big part of 2021 was just the simple act of starting. After the trauma of the fire (or pandemic, or loss, etc) it can feel incredibly hard to start (or re-start) anything, and I spent much of the year wobbling between survival mode (patterns long engrained)... and choosing the sturdiness of success (which is still an evolving definition). I am so grateful for all of YOU who have been a part of this process, and the support I have felt while I wobble. I am not totally sure what 2022 will be for TBD. There is a lot in flux, but it feels like in 2021 I gave myself a foundation to grow into something beautiful!

- Micah